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4 Ways to Go Ghoulishly Green for Halloween

By: Lori Melton

Halloween is just around the corner, which means it’s time to have some spooky fun.

From carving pumpkins and decorating your house with some beautifully bewitching decorations to hosting a frighteningly fabulous party and passing out candy to all those trick-or-treaters, there are plenty of ways to celebrate the ghoulishly glorious holiday. Before you plan your festivities, you may want to consider these four simple, eco-conscious ways to go green for Halloween.

1. WEAR A REPURPOSED OR RECYCLED COSTUME:

Throwing a costume together with items found at a resale shop or putting together a costume with re-purposed items at home is one easy way to be more eco-conscious on Halloween. For example, before you pitch those cardboard boxes consider turning them into a nifty costume. You could cut holes in a smaller square box to make a robot’s head and cut out arm holes and a hole for your head to make a robot’s body. Covering both boxes in foil will give your “robot” a metallic shine.

How many ways can you wear a white sheet as a costume? Beyond a traditional ghost, you can drape it or wrap it around your body to make it a frat-style toga; cut it into strips and wrap up like a mummy; or cut arm holes in it and splatter it with red paint for “blood” and go as a ghost bride. If you’re not crafty, consider swapping costumes with a friend that you both wore last year.

2. PASS OUT GREEN CANDY/TREATS:

Most of us love candy and Halloween offers a great excuse to indulge in sweet treats – especially those trick-or-treaters of all ages. As yummy as it is, all those wrappers from individually-wrapped pieces of candy generate a lot of waste. Consider handing out some eco-friendly candy choices such as Glee Gum natural chewing gum, which uses no artificial colors, artificial sweeteners or preservatives. It’s non-GMO Project verified and uses chicle, which is harvested sustainable tree sap which promotes rainforest conservation. NaturalCandyStore.com also has some fantastic candy options. Or, consider giving out a candy alternative such as an apple, some quarters, or a small toy.

If you do find yourself over-stocked in traditional candy wrappers try to re-purpose them instead of tossing them out. Can you turn wrappers into a tote bag or a fun kid’s craft project like a necklace or a bracelet? Finally, a waste recycling company called TerraCycle allows you to collect your waste and send it to them to use for a variety of recycled applications.

3. USE ECO-FRIENDLY DECORATIONS:

Some people are wildly enthusiastic about putting up Halloween decorations and can’t wait to turn their house a creepy, scary haunted lair. There are lots of eco-conscious ways to decorate for the spookiest day of the year. For instance, using solar-powered or LED lights will conserve energy, as will refraining from using those inflatable ghouls that require electricity to operate. You can use natural décor elements like a hand-carved pumpkin, a scarecrow created out of straw bales and dressed in old clothes, and even cornstalks look festive when arranged the right way. There are also lots of recycled decoration ideas online like this one for on Upcycled World’s website for creating a skull out of a milk jug. The possibilities are frightfully fantastic!

4. HOST A GREEN HALLOWEEN PARTY:

Using all the suggestions above can help you plan and prepare for a green Halloween party from the recycled or swapped costumes to the natural candy and earth-friendly decorations. A few more green suggestions for the main event include using real plates and silverware instead of paper plates and plastic, serving water out of pitchers instead of individual bottles, and having a pumpkin carving contest so guests can take home their own natural Halloween decoration after the party is over.